A Chance Encounter
by AvocetsInFlight
Summary: ...and what came of it. A tale of unforeseen events leading to unexpected romance. Set three years after the end of season two, in an almost definitely AU future.
1. A Chance Encounter

All characters property of Rooster Teeth…

**Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter**

.-.-.-.

It had been three years now. Three years since the world began to crumble. The war which had overtaken Remnant was violent and bitter, and the kingdom of Vale had been hit hard – almost half had been lost to the rebels and the darkness. What remained was surrounded by a heavily-guarded, heavily reinforced 50 meter wall. As far as could be determined the other three kingdoms were in about the same shape, but at this point communication between them was tenuous at best.

Despite being right on the border, Vale City had fared somewhat better than the kingdom as a whole, only loosing portions of its northern districts to the opposition. Beacon academy had also withstood the onslaught, and was currently being used as a base of operations for the hunters and huntresses assisting in the defense of Vale. Regular classes had long since been cancelled, but most of the students had elected to stay and help with the war effort.

…

Team RWBY had of course been among those who had stayed, and they quickly became prominent figures in the fight against darkness. Between Weiss' family name and connections, Blake's insider knowledge and infiltration skills, Yang's tenacity, Ruby's tactical excellence, and the sheer power evinced by each one of them, it wasn't long before Ozpin and the other leaders were calling upon them personally to give advice and run special missions. And their effectiveness in active combat soon meant that the presence of even one of them could help strengthen the resolve of the other fighters.

And Ruby wasn't complaining about any of this. No, she was happy with whatever they could do to end this war and make the world a safe, happy place once more. It was just that, well - they almost never got to fight as a team anymore. At the moment, Yang was down in the southeastern part of the kingdom rallying some wavering troops, Blake was on some highly classified top secret spying mission, and Weiss was all the way over in Atlas assessing the situation there and trying to get communications with Vale reestablished.

As for Ruby, tonight she was on patrol in the no-man's land (now called 'The Zone') which extended for two miles beyond the walls surrounding Vale. These patrols were run constantly on a randomized schedule along the entire length of the wall to thin the Grimm populations and ensure the enemy did not attempt any operations in The Zone without Vale having warning of it.

Currently, she was working her way through an area which used to be part of Vale City. With the light of the moon she could just make out the tower of Beacon from where she stood in one of the upper floors of a ruined high-rise. Ruby would be reporting back there at the end of her current shift, and she could not wait. The nights had been getting chillier lately, and hot cocoa and cookies with friends in front of a warm fire had _never_ sounded better.

Having determined there were no Grimm active in the immediate vicinity, Ruby set off again – making her way from building to building as she scanned the ground below for any sign of suspicious activity. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, noth– wait. Ruby backtracked to get a better look at the flash of dingy white which had caught her eye. The thing was mostly in shadow, but a dark something protruded from it into the slash of moonlight cutting into the alley. It looked kinda like a person, though it would be very strange for a person to be lying out here in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. It could be a trap of course, but if so it was a very poor one. There was no set route for patrols, so no one could have known that she or anyone would be coming this way – let alone spot the odd bundle lying in the alley. Well, trap or no, Ruby had to at least take a quick look.

Using a windowsill on the opposite building to assist her, Ruby hopped down quietly into the alley. Whatever this was she would have to be quick. Despite having seen almost none on this patrol she knew Grimm had a nasty habit of showing up without warning when you least expected it, and she would rather not fight in these cramped quarters. With that in mind she hurried over to the mysterious form. It was _definitely_ a person, lying face down and wearing dark trousers and a formerly-white coat. There was no sign of animal ears or a tail, so this was probably a human. It was hard to tell what color their hair was, what with the darkness and the dirt and – was that blood? – matted in it, and their right arm and leg were twisted at odd angles. Clearly whoever this was had been through something awful before ending up here. Poor thing. Well, at the very least she could turn them over and get a picture of their face. Maybe there would be a match in the database and they could figure out who this person was.

Stowing Crescent Rose on her back, Ruby carefully turned the body over – and _froze_. She _knew_ this person. Even though his face was bruised and swollen, and it had been almost two years since she had last seen him, she knew exactly who this was.

Roman Torchwick - the gentleman-criminal of Vale.

What in Remnant's name was going on that would make Roman Torchwick's remains show up - !

The body before her had just drawn in a shallow, ragged breath. He was _alive_?! Ruby leaned closer to check and noticed his lips working as though he were trying to say something. She got closer still, her hand going to his shoulder to let him know someone was there, trying to catch whatever it was he was saying. It came out in a barely-there rasp –

"…help…"

"…info…for…"

"…help..."

Somehow, Ruby found herself smiling wryly at him. "Idiot. I'm one of the good guys, I woulda' helped you anyway." But how to get him back to Beacon? Sure, she was larger and stronger now, but he still looked rather heavy and she didn't want to injure him further while in transport…

Ruby's musings were cut short by the cry of a Nevermore which sounded entirely too close for comfort. If she wanted to help Torchwick they would have to leave _now_. Without another thought Ruby hoisted him up over her shoulder and sped away in a cloud of rose petals.

.-.-.-.

**Hey everyone! AvocetsInFlight here. **

**Recently I finally got around to watching the second season of RWBY, and while watching I had the sudden thought that it would be interesting to see what the fandom had done in terms of Torchwick pairings. Sooo, I came over here and looked it up and lo and behold there was Peeves' lovely fic "Still Dreaming". **

**I read it, I loved it, and I became completely hooked on Rosewick. (Admittedly, I tend to be a complete sucker for bad guy/good girl pairings…) But there is not nearly enough material out there for Rosewick, so I decided to contribute something myself.**

**So, hope you all enjoy this, and let me know what you think!**


	2. Rescue: Part 1

All characters property of Rooster Teeth…

**Chapter 2: Rescue Part 1**

.-.-.-.

After she had put a sufficient distance between them and the Nevermore, Ruby ducked into the remains of a ruined coffee shop to catch her breath and plan her next move. She could comlink HQ now and have a Bullhead sent to pick them up, or she could continue on to the gate she was scheduled to return by. Both options carried risk. Getting picked up would be a bit quicker, but she (and therefore Torchwick) would have to remain in one spot potentially giving Grimm the time to notice their presence and aggregate. Continuing on would allow her to maintain a low profile thus greatly reducing their chances of a confrontation with Grimm, but it would take a bit longer and she wasn't sure how much time she had before Torchwick went and snuffed it or something.

Ruby shifted her hold on the man while considering her options and as she did so she encountered a damp spot on his side. Drawing her hand away, she found fresh blood staining her fingers and cursed softly at the sight. One of his wounds must have opened up as she ran. That settled it then. Torchwick needed medical attention ASAP so Bullhead pick-up it was. She tapped her earpiece to open up communication with HQ at Beacon.

"Arugula Patch, this is Chard Stalk. Come in Arugula Patch."

…

While waiting for a reply, Ruby wondered once again just who it was who thought up all the code names. Early on in the war, Ozpin had decided that as a safety measure all of the huntresses and hunters who were on duty would be issued code names, and these code names would change every week or every mission – depending on which was sooner. And of course their communications points got code names too, which also changed weekly. Incredibly enough, the system had served its purpose, making it difficult for the enemy to figure out just who was where and communicating with which checkpoint – thereby reducing the number of targeted attacks on operatives based off of leaked communications.

Yeah, there was nothing wrong with the system, but the code names sure were getting…creative.

Her earpiece finally came to life. "Yo, Chard Stalk – this is Arugula Patch. What can we do for ya?"

Ruby grinned at the response. It was always good to get Wrenne on the line – she had field experience and knew how to make things happen.

"Picked up an injured person in quadrant eleven, requesting immediate airlift for both of us."

There was silence for a moment on the other end of the line then – "Roger that - immediate airlift for two persons. Where can they find ya?"

Ruby mentally reviewed the immediate area. With a Nevermore around rooftops were out; she needed a ground-based spot where they would be exposed as little as possible but a Bullhead could still get in and out quickly. Hmm…ah yes –

"We'll be at the clearing by the old water tower. And tell them to hurry - there's Nevermore activity in the area."

"The old water tower and Nevermores, I'll let them know. Should get to ya in about fifteen minutes. Stay safe out there."

"Yup, ten-four. Chard Stalk signing off."

Ruby tapped her earpiece again to end the connection. From where they were now it should take her just under four minutes to get to the water tower from her current position using her semblance. She shifted the man on her shoulder again and patted his back. "Hang in there a bit longer, Torchwick. Help is on the way and we just have to be there in time to meet it."

…

As she made her way towards the water tower, Ruby mentally reviewed everything that her side had known of Torchwick and his activities for the past several years…

A prominent enemy leader in the days before the war had really started, he had all but disappeared from the public eye after his (possibly assisted) escape from General Ironwood's custody. It had seemed that he was merely laying low for a time, and reports of his whereabouts had continued to trickle in through Ozpin's intelligence network. Torchwick was sighted playing a seemingly minor role in a few of the skirmishes which took place before the first major battle. It was during one of these that Ruby had last seen him – just a fleeting glimpse of red hair, bowler hat, and white coat in the midst of the fighting. Then, sightings had ceased altogether, and it was assumed that he had died during one of the initial battles. It even went on his file – "Status: Presumed Dead", and Ruby had honestly been a bit sorry when she saw it. After going up against so many deadly-serious and heart-breakingly earnest White Fang members, she found herself missing Torchwick's flippant attitude and sharp wit. Crossing weapons with him again would have been a welcome change of pace.

And now… Now here he was again, not dead after all, at least, not quite. Though at the rate things were going he just might manage to literally die in her arms. She snorted to herself at that. It seemed like just the sort of thing he _would_ do, too. She could picture it now – her sitting on the ground and cradling his head in her lap, watching him slip away from her (_again!_) – and him waking up just long enough to caress her cheek with one hand in a completely sarcastic manner and mumble something about how as much as he would love to stay, circumstances were such that he really _had_ to be going and –

She shook her head slightly to rid it of that train of thought because somehow she _really_ didn't like it.

Having reached the edge of the clearing next to the water tower, Ruby skidded to a stop. It would be best to wait here in the shadows of the buildings until the Bullhead got close. Then she would go out and flag it down. In the meantime, Torchwick needed a bit of first aid to (hopefully) hold him together until their ride arrived. Hmm…places to put him, places to put him…that patch of grass would have to do for now. She laid Torchwick down on it as gently as she could, then swiftly unbuttoned his jacket and shirt to get to the wound on his side which had been oozing blood earlier. The damage visible on his torso was cringe-worthy. Whoever had done this to him had come very close to ending his life through sheer trauma, and there was still a very high chance of exactly that happening if she didn't get this bleeding stopped.

A quick search through her medical kit produced gauze, tape, and some disinfectant wipes. The wound on his side looked to be a stab wound of some sort, so after cleaning up the area around it Ruby made a dressing with the gauze and taped it firmly in place. With that done, she turned her attention to his broken arm and leg. There wasn't much she could do about those except try and stabilize them to reduce the chance of further damage. Of course it would've been nicer to do it _before_ she had been obliged to tote him all over this urban wasteland, but Grimm rarely took such things into consideration when attacking.

The question was what to use for splints. Looking about, Ruby spotted some aluminum flashing hanging from the broken windows in the shop across the street. It wasn't ideal, but it would do. She stood up and walked over to it, contemplating the best method of removing it from the building, and right then (_of course _it was right then) simultaneously heard the grunting of a Boarbatusk and the drone of the Bullhead's engines. Looked like Torchwick would have to wait to get his broken limbs set. Running back, she hoisted him over her shoulder and paused a moment to assess the situation. The Boarbatusk was making its way down the street towards the clearing and looked like it hadn't spotted them quite yet, and the Bullhead was probably still a minute or two away. Moving carefully, so as to not attract the nearing Grimm's attention, Ruby slipped around the corner of the building into the clearing then sprinted over to the base of the water tower while keeping out of the creature's line of sight. She didn't want to fight unless she absolutely had to, but in the event they were attacked before the Bullhead got to them, the water tower's supports would afford a bit of temporary protection from the Boarbatusk's rolling attacks. Having thus situated herself in the most advantageous place the site offered, Ruby unholstered Crescent Rose.

The next few minutes would now be a waiting game. Boarbatusk or Bullhead – which would arrive first?

.-.-.-.

**Here we are! Chapter 2 and poor Roman ****_still_**** hasn't gotten professional medical attention. **

**Thank you all for the follows, faves, and reviews! They helped to keep me inspired and get this chapter out as soon as I could. :)**

**For the one reviewer who guessed that Torchwick's current state is due to Cinder having no use for him anymore…thou hast hit the nail on the head my friend. I'll be elaborating on it a bit in later chapters when we start getting Roman's side of the story.**

**Hope you all enjoyed, and let me know what you think! **


	3. Rescue: Part 2

All characters property of Rooster Teeth…

**Chapter 3: Rescue Part 2**

.-.-.-.

Situations like this were some of the ones Ruby disliked the most. Here she was – well, Torchwick was here too, technically speaking, but he really wasn't contributing much just at the moment – _anyhow_, here she was waiting to see whether doom or salvation would reach them first, and the _only_ thing she could do was _wait_. Yup, situations like these really, really –

At that moment, their possible fates arrived simultaneously.

The Bullhead finally came into view, flying low over the tops of the empty office buildings, and just as Ruby was about to run out and signal it the Boarbatusk trotted into the clearing snuffing at the air in a manner which suggested it had picked up on their presence. She_ really_ didn't have time to fight that thing _now_ –better to distract it and get in the aircraft while the creature was otherwise occupied.

With that thought Ruby holstered Crescent Rose and tore a flash grenade off her belt, pulling the pin with her teeth and lobbing it past the Boarbatusk to the other side of the open space. The device went off with its always-spectacular flash-boom and while the Grimm was blundering about trying to attack the spot which had assaulted its senses so, Ruby ran out from under the water tower waving her free arm and hoping she wouldn't have to do anything more to get the attention of the rescue team. Any minute now, the Grimm would turn its attention back to her, and sending up a flare would be a sure way to make it do so _immediately_. Then, the Bullhead came to a stop overhead and opened its cargo door and one of the crew had the presence of mind to fire a flare past the Boarbatusk to distract it a bit longer while the others dropped a line down for Ruby and the incapacitated man she was carrying. A moment later they had been pulled up into the craft, the door was shut, and the pilot set a course straight for Beacon.

* * *

><p>Ruby sank to the floor, heaving a sigh of relief as she laid Torchwick down. Sure, she had gotten a <em>lot<em> stronger over the past few years, but lugging a grown man around would eventually take its toll on anybody.

Taking a seat on one of the benches lining the side of the aircraft, Ruby watched as the two EMT's started to work on stabilizing Torchwick's condition. If anyone had recognized him yet they hadn't said so; though it probably hardly mattered one way or the other at this point.

It _would_ matter once they got back to Beacon, though.

With that in mind, Ruby pulled out her scroll and typed a quick message to Ozpin, letting him know that the injured person she had picked up just so happened to be one not-quite-as-dead-as-they-had-thought Roman Torchwick. Surprisingly enough she received a response from her overworked leader almost immediately, instructing her to stay with the wanted criminal until he or Glynda could get there to confirm and assess the situation for themselves.

Ruby made a wry face and sighed. Duty was duty, but still… "Always trouble when you show up, huh?" she murmured, looking at the still-unconscious man. By now the EMTs had moved him onto one of those medical gurneys and were getting his arm and leg into temporary splints and monitoring his vitals. Since the professionals seemed to have things well in hand, Ruby decided to take a quick catnap as the Bullhead traversed the last few miles to Beacon.

* * *

><p>She awoke as soon as the aircraft touched down; making sure her weapon and all of her equipment was still with her before exiting. The night air was chilly enough to be bracing, and there was a light but steady breeze. Ruby made sure to stay well out of the EMT's way, jogging along behind them as they hurried their injured patient across the open space between the landing pad and the entrance to the hospital wing. Once inside Torchwick was trundled off to the trauma ward (with Ruby still tailing him), where the medics set to work assessing the damage and patching up what they could. Ruby was caught up in the flurry of activity for a bit as well. One of the nurses questioned her thoroughly about the patient and circumstances (…no she hadn't seen whatever happened to him, yes she did a bit of first-aid in the field, no she didn't know how long he had been in this condition, etc.) and relayed the information to the doctor in charge. After that nurse left, though, it seemed that the assembled medics had no more need of Ruby, so she snagged an empty chair and sat in the hallway outside the room where they were working on Torchwick, awaiting the arrival of Glynda or Ozpin<p>

Suddenly, there was some commotion in the operation room – and peeking in the door Ruby quickly realized why –

Torchwick had flatlined.

She felt like yelling at him.

Or hitting him?

Ruby watched as the doctors and nurses continued in their efforts to revive the man…

On second thought, maybe both. Both yelling _and_ hitting. Yeah, both sounded good.

Because _really_, how stupid would that be for her to have gone to all this effort and brought him all this way for _nothing_? _And_ she was missing her cocoa-and-cookie date, so he had _better_ show proper gratitude for her sacrifice by _not dying_. The _nerve_ of the man! If he didn't wake up soon Ruby was going to…

Fortunately, the medical team managed to get his heart restarted before she gave in to the urge to do something drastic. It was quite the relief – somehow, now that she had found him out there still alive, the idea of him actually dying now was just _wrong_. Satisfied that crisis had been averted for the time being, and having nothing better to do; Ruby pulled out her scroll and began to fill out the paperwork on the patrol she had just completed.

* * *

><p>Finally, the trauma team finished their work and Torchwick was transferred to one of the long-term recovery rooms. Ruby followed since neither of her superiors had shown up yet. These rooms were equipped with upholstered arm chairs for the benefit of patients and their visitors, and Ruby happily flopped down crosswise in one of them. She watched the nurses finish getting Torchwick situated, then (once they had left) took out Crescent Rose and began to clean and oil it by the dim light of the single lamp which had been left on. Some of the parts on her weapon were showing wear from frequent hard use, so Ruby made a mental note that tomorrow she would need to take it apart and give it a proper servicing. For now though, she would just do the basic cleaning. Her exhaustion was catching up with her, though, (despite the brief nap on the Bullhead) and gradually the movement of her polishing cloth slowed and her eyelids grew heavy until finally she was fast asleep – Crescent Rose still sitting across her lap and one arm hanging limply off the front of the chair.<p>

* * *

><p>Just before dawn, the figure in the bed briefly opened emerald eyes and took in the sight of a standard-issue in-city hospital room whose only outstanding feature seemed to be a somewhat familiar-looking huntress and weapon sprawled across one of the armchairs.<p>

It was decidedly…odd.

But his head hurt too much…

…hmm…

…correction…

… _all_ of him hurt too much…

…to try and make sense of it at the moment.

…Perhaps he was...delirious…

…

It was easier to just go back to sleep.

.-.-.-.

**Heeeey everyone! It's your favorite MIA author who finally decided to show up! *smiles and waves nervously***

**But, you know, hooray for Roman finally getting medical attention and all that! **

**But seriously, sorry for the long wait. This chapter was coming along nicely, and then I kicked into high gear on my cosplay prep for Katsucon and said prep is still taking up a goodly portion of my free time. Which is also why the next chapter will also likely be a bit slow in coming. Still, I'll do my best to hurry things along!**

**Thanks to everyone who followed, faved, and/or reviewed – and as always, hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and let me know what you think.**


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